Many of you will have seen the findings of the Children’s Commissioner’s second Stability Index annual report that was launched at the beginning of the month. The report showed that nearly three quarters of children in care experienced either a …

We are in the middle of this year’s Foster Care Fortnight, which is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate how foster carers transform the lives of children. We all know that many more foster carers are needed. I hope that this …

One of the best parts of my job is when we get to acknowledge and celebrate good social care practice. And no more so than when we give a judgement of outstanding to highlight the excellent work leaders and social …

I’m delighted to have this opportunity to communicate with you in my new role as Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care. With week 1 under my belt, I’d like to talk a bit about what matters most to me and …

Today we published our annual fostering data: ‘Fostering in England – 2016-17’. As ever, we are grateful to all the agencies and local authorities for the time they have taken to collect and share their data with us. Not only …

This week I went to the National Learning Conference, part of the Government’s Social Work Innovation Programme - a great event to be part of. What struck me was the large number of social work practitioners attending, and not just …

In September, Ofsted, along with fellow inspectorates for health, police and probation, published a joint report about domestic abuse. ‘The response to children living with domestic abuse - Prevent, protect and repair’ took a close look at how local agencies …

Too often news about the state of children’s social care makes for worrying reading. A sector beset by many challenges, it usually only makes the news when things go wrong. At Ofsted, we have been clear about what needs to …

Today [29 November 2017] saw the publication of the Inspection of Local Authorities (ILACS) framework. This is the culmination of almost two years of hard work by my social care colleagues in Ofsted, to whom I am greatly indebted. What …

It’s National Care Leavers week (25 October – 03 November), a great campaign that quite rightly focuses the attention of professionals and politicians on this important group of young people. It’s timely then that we talk about what matters most …

About Ofsted - developments in social care inspection

This blog looks at the way Ofsted inspects the social care sector: local authority children's services and social care providers, such as children's homes. We help social care professionals stay up to date on issues and developments in the sector.